Between 2020 and 2025, Dillard University in New Orleans, LA, served as a Regional Collaboration Partner in CIC’s Legacies of American Slavery network. Located in a city and region that resonates with the history of slavery and the creative excellence of African Americans, the project team focused on the theme of Cultural Creativity—with a particular emphasis on food, music, and tourism. The project was headed by food historian Zella Palmer, director of the Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture. Many of the public-facing programs are archived on a vibrant YouTube channel; there’s also a DJ-curated playlist of music that reflects the legacies of American slavery. Regional collaborators mentioned in the videos below include the Amistad Research Center, the Hermann-Grima + Gallier Historic Houses, the New Orleans Jazz Museum, and the Whitney Plantation.
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From the project team’s final report:
Our participation in the Legacies network helped us to understand other institutions’ projects and goals—and the barriers that we all face. Our students were actively engaged and many participated in every facet of our programming. They truly benefited from experiences both on and off campus. We were able to increase community engagement and we have had positive outcomes. Our faculty truly benefited from the entire project by enhancing curriculum, participating in programming, and engaging with students.
This project has helped us to understand how the legacies of slavery impact our society today and how culture is the defining thread to conceptualize an unjust legal system that continues to impact generations. … We [will] continue to build upon our research, storytelling, documentation and programming so that we can have these discussions about American history.
👁This is part of a series of reflections on the Legacies initiative.